Animation: New Water Map of Mars
The hunt for water on Mars has always been a point of interest for researchers.
Earth has life almost everywhere water exists. Water is an ideal target for finding lifeforms, like microbes, that may exist on other planets.
And if Mars is to become a future home, knowing where water exists will be necessary for our survival.
The European Space Agency in collaboration with Roscosmos have launched a joint mission to explore the atmosphere of Mars and hunt for signs of life. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) took off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on Monday and is due to reach the red planet in October. The Scotsman reports: The probe will investigate whether methane in the Martian atmosphere is coming from a geological source or is being produced by microbes. If all goes well, the two space powers expect to follow up this venture with a rover, to be assembled in the UK, which will drill into the surface.